A Hatake Duo Short: Was That Really?
by ForteGirl
Summary: Kaede discovers that a combination of hot chocolate and moldy bread can cause some strange things to happen. And what happened to Kakashi? One-shot. Please R&R.


Disclaimer and Introduction:

Well, I was going through my old fanfic files and found this ancient thing. I typed this up about... wow, three years ago now and posted it on DeviantArt but put it in Storage some time after. However,I feel like bringing it back out. This was just a random idea I got when I was bored at my grandma's and it was a just-for-fun sort of thing. I figured I'd share it with you all, so yup.

Like always, Kakashi and related Naruto characters do not belong to me. They belong to Kishimoto. Kaede does belong to me though, so, yeah, no stealing. That's bad.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

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Kaede sat there, thoughtlessly sipping on a cup of hot chocolate, her eyes rather droopy. She set the cup down as she shoved a piece of bread in her mouth, holding it there, ignoring the fact it felt rather hard. Apparently, her green eyes hadn't noticed the slight bit of green on the corner. She sighed as she ran her finger along the rim of the cup. Kakashi was gone again. The little girl made a face. And they hadn't even went shopping. There was nothing in the house to snack on. She munched on the bread until she swallowed, sticking another piece in her mouth. She was going to have to survive off this bread for now.

After a while of staring at the cupboard, she got up, rinsed her cup out in the sink and finished the piece of bread off as she trudged up the stairs. It was late and she was tired and the little girl figured sleeping was the only way she would be able to pass the time. Maybe when she woke up, her dad would be home then, too.

The young Hatake crawled in to bed, taking a deep breath as she stared up at the ceiling. She blinked as her eyes fell half-way closed. Another blink and she slipped into a deep sleep.

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She woke up the next morning to a loud bang coming from the front door, her eyes opening slightly. What in the world was that? She sat up in bed, knowing it couldn't be her dad, because if the door was locked, he always had another five ways of getting in. More loud banging sounded and she forced herself out of bed and walked slowly down to the front door. It must be rather urgent for them to be making that kind of noise and be coming that early in the morning.

Kaede opened the door and peaked out, seeing the familiar face of Iruka. He looked down at her with wide eyes, though he had forced a calm façade over his face, though the little girl could see past it. He bit his lip. "… Kaede… I…" His eyes trailed down as her widened, her grip on the door handle tightening, her knuckles turning white.

The next bit, the little girl couldn't remember. It had all suddenly gone blank.

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Kaede stood in the front of the large group of people, each one dressed fully in black, their heads slightly bowed. She was still and silent, her body rigid, yet numb. Her green eyes stared forward at the picture of her father. She couldn't believe it had happened. Her jaw tightened as her hands clenched at her sides. How could it have happened? Why did it happen?

Her eyes stared to tear as she shook, her lips quivering. She want her dad home when she woke up… But she wanted him home alive. Not… Not dead…. Her eyes narrowed as tears streaked her face. She could feel a number of eyes on her back, a number of the people behind her waiting for her breakdown.

They didn't have to wait long.

Kaede took in a deep breath before giving a large sob, crying the hardest she ever had, a sharp pain shooting through her chest. Naruto eyed her slightly, a frown pulling his lips harder and harder. He watched as Iruka bent down to comfort the little girl, hugging her, thought he knew it wouldn't make it better. Kaede continued to cry, hugging the teacher back. It hurt to think that she would never be able to hug her dad again. He was gone. He was… He..

The little girl saw him smile flash across her vision.

She gave out a loud cry that pieced the grey, silent air, those who were close to the Hatake duo frowning harder than before. She shook her head as she tried to deny it, only to find those words breaking into stronger, more painful sobs, the tears flowing faster than they had ever done so before. It all hurt… It all hurt so bad… It all had happened so fast. He left and suddenly, was gone forever. Kaede closed her eyes tight as she gave another painful cry in Iruka's arms.

The group soon started to disperse, the number lowering only by one or two people, as a few stayed in hopes of comforting the girl from a distance. Naruto gave Kaede another soft look before turning away himself leaving Kaede there, still held in Iruka's arms.

"…Kaede…. I'm so sorry…" Iruka whispered to her running his fingers softly through her hair. That only caused her to cry more, as she realised she'd never feel her dad to that to her hair again. She quivered as she shook her head, unable to conjure any words, only tears. "I'm so, so sorry, Kaede…"

Kaede blinked hard as she pulled away, attempting to wipe those tears away, only to find them replaced by more. She stepped away from Iruka as she pointed, giving him the permission to go. Iruka just continued to kneel there, a pained look on his face before he stood, looking at that picture of Kakashi one last time. Then, the teacher turned to leave as well, leaving the silver-haired girl there, all alone, her shoulders still visibly shaking with each sob.

The little girl soon looked up, another shot through the heart signaling to her brain as she stared at that picture again, the tears building up more and more. He was really gone. She cried as she soon collapsed to her knees.

Why?

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The little girl stumbled into the house, the room darker and more silent than ever. Her eyes, still watery, found themselves drowned in tears once again as she stood at the door. She staggered into the living room as she stood there looking around at the walls as she gave a hard, choked sob. "D-dad….Daddy…." she cried as she stood there, looking at the couch. She could just see the two of them napping there faintly. She remembered one time she had flipped around and knocked him on the floor…

She clenched her teeth as she held her head, giving another sob, shakily making her way towards the stairs, only to stop to look at the kitchen. She blinked as she saw another scene play before her eyes, watched as Kakashi tossed a pancake out of the pan, only to have it stick to the ceiling. He had looked up at it, only to have it fall on his face a second later.

Kaede blinked and then saw their food fight again, their laughs echoing faintly in the back of her mind, the sound of dad's voice lingering in her ears. She bit her lip until it bled slightly. She would never hear him again… Kaede shook her head as she forced herself away from the kitchen, those laughs fading from the air.

The young Hatake slowly climbed the stairs, stopping at the hall, looking down at her father's room, the door slightly ajar, the room dark and empty. Now it would always be empty. She could never expect him to show up in there again. Automatically, she walked to the door, pushing it open as she looked around that empty room. She blinked as she saw herself tossing his blanket off him early in the morning. He would pretend he was asleep and as soon as she went in to prod at him, he'd pull her into a hug.

Kaede tried to shake it away before she lunged on the bed, crying into the blanket, then, into the pillow. She breathed in as she buried her face in it. It still smelled like him, but she knew soon, that smell would go away. She'd never be able to get it back and soon she'd forget it. The little girl cried harder as she thought about that, sitting up and pressing herself against the wall, hugging the pillow. She didn't want to forget. More memories flashed across her vision and her mind, causing more tears to erupt from her eyes. "….. Daddy………….."

She stared at the wall as she shook, suddenly giving another large sob.

After a while, she closed her eyes, crying until she was lulled to sleep.

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"Kaede."

The little girl opened her eyes and looked up, finding herself nestled gently in Kakashi's crossed legs. He sat there on the bed and gave the girl a smile. "D-dad…? Is it really you?" she asked as her lip quivered. He nodded and she hugged him as she cried, snuggling into his vest. She was shaking so bad, she could hear her teeth chattering.

"Hey.. It's alright.." Kakashi rubbed her on the back, as he tried to get her to calm down. "Come on… Let's go down for breakfast. Will that make you feel better?" The little girl nodded. "Good. Come on." Kaede smiled lightly as she crawled out of his lap, heading towards the door. She turned.

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Kaede woke abruptly from her dream, sitting up and looking around the empty room, her heart giving a painful throb as she realised it was all a dream. He was gone… He was… The little girl broke down again as she fell limp. It couldn't have happened. It just couldn't have.

Kaede cried. She didn't know what to do. She still needed her father. She didn't know what to do without him. She wasn't ready to be without him. The little girl rolled as she tossed slightly around the bed.

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The little girl found herself on the floor suddenly, looking up to see her bedroom ceiling and Kakashi peering over the side of the bed. He raised his eye brow casually. "You okay? You looked like you were having some crazy dream there." He placed his hand on her forehead. "Well, you seem okay. You're fever's finally down. " Kakashi noticed that look. "Oh, you kind of got food poisoning. Were you eating that bread on the counter? I thought I told you not to… Oh, well.. You're better now and that's all that matters."

He smiled.

Kaede just looked up at him and blinked. Was that really all just a dream?

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And this ends another random Hatake Duo fanfic from me. Like I said in the other one I just posted, keep an eye out for news on the new fic Kitsune and I are writing (we wrote Nightmare together if you don't remember) as well as other work by me. Please review as I'd love to hear your feedback. Thanks again for reading!


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